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Published: August 24th 2016
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Setting off from Norwich bus station at 7am I'm heading off on my travels again this time to Norway, starting in Oslo. This is another in my tried and tested series 'Doing it on the cheap!' using budget airlines and youth hostels plus buses and ferries rather than the much more expensive cruise option that many seem to favour for Norway. I'm hoping for some stunning scenery after I get out of the capital city and a bit of trolsk. Apparently a word without a single word translation in English other than troll which isn't really its proper meaning at all - according to what I've read anyway! Trolsk really means an eerie, ephemeral misty forest or mountain atmosphere, a feeling that, when you're out walking at dusk, at any moment a troll might appear from behind a tree or rock! Spooky!
As I'm pondering the trolsk definition our coach comes to a spluttering halt just as we're leaving Cambridge! Arghh! I might not even get a chance to go on a trolsk hunt if I miss my flight! I find out we are only half an hour from the airport and manage to find some other desperates to share
the cost of a taxi. I only just make my flight, hot and flustered just as the last few people at the gate are going through! Phew! Back on track I relax again and on landing join the queue for the bus from 'Oslo Torp' airport to Oslo. I'm guessing that 'Torp' means 'haha this is nowhere near Oslo' in Norwegian as it takes one and three quarter hours to get there! Fortunately we have the friendliest bus driver ever who greets every passenger, slightly worried arriving in a new place and not quite knowing if they're on the right bus etc, with jolly chat and friendly questions. Very reassuring and a wonderful welcome to Norway. For me he checks out my name and decides he prefers Charlotte to Lottie. So I'm Charlotte for a couple of hours.
As we are approaching Oslo I suddenly notice tail backs of traffic in two lanes stretching for miles, but we are still moving, whizzing by in fact. Oh my god! They have bus lanes on dual carriageways!! Most excellent! We drop off a few locals along the way and then arrive on the dot at the central bus station. It's not
obvious which direction I have to go in to get to my hostel so after a bit of aimless wandering trying to find a street sign and failing I enlist the help of a likely looking friendly couple. Good pick! They sort me out, send me on my way and off I go confidently expecting a roundabout any minute. I'm caught up by the guy of the couple, out of breath and apologising profusely for sending me the wrong way. They insist on coming with me after this and we get chatting. They are actually from Lithuania, in Oslo for two years. What a lovely couple. I say my goodbyes as the hostel comes into view and check I to my four bed dorm. At first I think I have it to myself but it soon fills up. One guy is a bit of a lad, from Manchester, but more of him later. To sleep. Tomorrow is my first proper day in Norway and I'm planning on it being a packed one!
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